What is the World Coming To?

Anyone with a smidgeon of moral sensitivity must be asking what is happening to the world. Jesus told the people things would get pretty awful at some point in their future. “And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” Some people think He was talking about the end of the world which is still in our future. Others believe He was referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system. If that is what He meant, that is in our past. I think both could be true because there are other instances of dual fulfillment of prophecy in the Bible.

A look at the historical record shows that much of what Jesus prophesied did take place when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem after a seven-year siege. Jesus predicted that there would be wars. Rome waged war on Jerusalem. Historians record that many Jews acted treacherously during the siege, taking advantage of one another, and even going so far as to kill their children to avoid starvation. Jesus said that many would come falsely claiming to be the returning Messiah. That too is found in the historical record. I believe the events around 70 A.D. could be a fulfillment of what Jesus predicted.

I also believe that we are seeing many of the features of Jesus’ prediction in our day. The idea of many false prophets leading people into sin is sad commentary on the state of the church in the West today. One obvious example is the way some so-called Christians label other Christians as hatemongers because they disagree with their biblical interpretation. I have written many articles about the deception being perpetrated by people who call themselves Christians but deny that God forbade homosexual relationships. Another example I have mentioned previously is preachers who deny the existence of hell. They prefer not to recognize that while God is love personified, He is also a holy and righteous judge who will find it necessary to condemn some people to an existence apart from His benevolence: hell.

It is clear that the moral state of not just unbelievers, but sadly, the church fits Jesus’ prediction of the last days – whenever that may be. I will defer to my fellow believers who wish to follow the Darby/Schofield scheme of the end times. I have written about that ad nauseum for many. They may be right. I choose to believe that most of the book of Revelation is in our past. That does not mean that God cannot make similar things happen again to bring about a second fulfillment. Whatever the case, they and I believe that Jesus is coming again to judge the world. The timing of those final events is less important than belief in their finality. God will judge the earth and its inhabitants someday, and what follows will be our eternal destiny based on our earthly decisions.

I have written far too many words as an introduction to my topic. (Yes, that was an introduction.) I have been reading through Jeremiah in my through-the-Bible reading plan. I was struck by the number of times “the earth” is mentioned. There are numerous passages that seem to refer to the earth as the actual, physical ground itself. Here is one example: “For the land is full of adulterers; for the land mourns because of a curse.” Without getting too deep into the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, I will say that the Hebrew word for “land” is broad in its meaning. It sometimes clearly means dirt or earth. It sometimes refers to a land as a country. “This land is my land; this land is your land, etc. – you know the song.”

What got me thinking is that in other verses, Jeremiah uses a different word for “land” that really does mean dirt. “Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors from a long time back and until forever.” The Hebrew word Jeremiah uses for land in that verse is “adamah” which is, as you might see, the same word that God used in Genesis to explain where Adam came from – the dust. If the dirt “mourns because of a curse,” we might need to rethink our understanding of just how sentient our planet really is.

I wrote previously about Peter’s explanation of what happens on “the Day of the Lord.” That phrase is usually interpreted to mean the last day of the earth’s existence. I discovered that Peter’s prediction may not have anything to do with the physical earth. He may have been alluding to the destruction of the evil spirits that influence evil people to commit evil acts. The earth itself may be reserved for another special treatment.

I think of what Paul mysteriously said in Romans. “For the eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation has been subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its servility to decay, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now.” The subjection Paul refers to was initiated by Adam when he sinned. He brought the curse on the whole earth.

The “eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly” makes it sound like creation itself is sentient. We know that Old Testament personification has trees clapping their hands, and stars singing. Jesus said that if He silenced the people on His triumphal entry, the rocks would cry out. What if all that is not just poetic language but reality we have dismissed? What if “creation” is just as anxious for the revealing of the redeemed as we are? I am looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where I will live forever in the presence of God Himself. I believe that is what the world is coming to. Are you as eager as I am?

Related Posts: The Cry of Sin; Alternate Realties; What Happened in the Fall; Selling Heaven on Earth